Why 'This Is Us' star Milo Ventimiglia doesn't want you to focus on Jack's death

Week after week, This Is Uschronicles the highs and lows of the Pearson family, tugging at viewers’ heartstrings every step of the way. The patriarch of the hit NBC show, Jack Pearson, portrayed by Milo Ventimiglia, has emerged as a fan favorite: Everyone wants Jack to be their significant other, their father, and their best friend.

Milo Ventimiglia as Jack Pearson in This Is Us. (Photo: Getty Images)

The moments that Jack shares with his wife, Rebecca, and their children, Kevin, Kate, and Randall, are full of love; however, it’s not all bliss in the Pearson household. From the outest, the series has made clear that Jack is not alive in the present day, and how Jack died became one of TV’s burning questions.

On Feb. 4, 2018, fans learned that Jack died from a heart attack caused by smoke from a fire, the result of a faulty slow cooker. Ventimiglia spoke to Yahoo Entertainment about Jack’s passing, asking that fans not fixate on his fatal moment. (Watch above.)

“Don’t worry about how Jack died, focus on how the man lived,” said Ventimigila. “If we think about our own lives, we do not know how we’re going to pass, and if all we are doing is thinking about that, we’re actually missing our entire life. So thinking about your life is much more important than thinking about the ultimate end, because that’s just a small moment.” Now, that is some real-life Jack Pearson advice.